# Site Qualification (the rules every site must pass)

> Use before any placement is proposed. One failure = the site is out. This is Husky Hamster's qualification floor; the same rules apply in every market and every placement type.
> Online version and Excel sheet: https://huskyhamster.com/knowledge-base/checklists/site-qualification/

## Hard rules (any failure disqualifies)
- [ ] Ahrefs DR 40 or higher — an entry filter, never the verdict
- [ ] 2,000+ monthly organic visits in Ahrefs, checked against the site itself (not just the number in a marketplace)
- [ ] Topical relevance to the client's product category confirmed by reading the site, not by category label
- [ ] No "write for us" or "advertise with us" pages (site search + footer + nav check)
- [ ] No link-farm patterns: the 30-second test — open the site; if you're jumping from crypto to health to SaaS to home improvement with commercial links dropped into everything, walk away
- [ ] Site is indexed (check `site:` search or manual index check on a recent article)
- [ ] No deindexation history or manual-action signals (Wayback Machine + recent crawl behavior)

## Traffic quality
- [ ] Traffic trend flat or rising over the last 6 months (no cliff)
- [ ] Traffic sources predominantly organic, not direct/referral spikes
- [ ] Top pages match the site's claimed topic (not scraped news or tool spam)
- [ ] Top country distribution makes sense for the client's market

## Content quality
- [ ] Recent publishing activity (site is alive, not a cemetery)
- [ ] Articles read as written for readers, not as link carriers
- [ ] Existing outbound links are relevant and sparingly placed
- [ ] No AI-slop hallmarks: repeated boilerplate intros, stock "conclusion" paragraphs, 800-word shells

## Risk screen
- [ ] Outbound link profile: no casino/adult/pharma/essay-mill patterns
- [ ] Anchor text of existing outbound links is varied (not one keyword repeated)
- [ ] Site is not a known PBN node (cross-check host/IP neighbourhood, registration patterns)
- [ ] Placement will carry no marks — flag to the client that this is a paid placement with devaluation risk before they approve

## Record
- [ ] Log: domain, DR, traffic, relevance note, verdict, date, screener
- [ ] Verdict: QUALIFIED / REJECTED — one line reason either way

---
**Husky Hamster**: link building for SaaS, AI products and software houses
Questions about this checklist? Andreea Paluszak, Head of Outreach: hello@huskyhamster.com · Book 30 minutes: https://huskyhamster.com/book-a-call/
20-22 Wenlock Road, London N1 7GU, United Kingdom · huskyhamster.com